Liturgy for 03-22-20 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
Wherever you are—inside or outside, with people or by yourself—the Triune God is there. We may think we’re just beginning to meet with God but in reality we’re just acknowledging the presence of the Living God who preceded us to this moment and is with us.
Let’s begin by singing praises to him!
Opening Song—Your Great Name (performed by The Lower Lights)
Call to Worship: (We Call on the Power of God) by the Iona Community
Read the Call to Worship Aloud. If there is more than one of you, choose someone to serve as leader, and then everyone respond as All.
If you’re alone, feel free to change the pronouns to the singular.
Leader: We call on the power of God to meet us in our helplessness:
ALL: God in our thinking, God in our speaking
Leader: We call on the clarity of God to meet us in our confusion:
ALL: God in our acting, God in our stillness
Leader: We call on the mercy of God to meet us in our
brokenness:
ALL: God in our waking, God in our sleeping.
Leader: We call on the Spirit of God to meet us in our
division:
ALL: God in our meeting, God in our parting.
Songs of Praise/Adoration/Declaration
Oh, The Deep Deep Love of Jesus
Oh, The Deep Deep Love of Jesus-Spotify
Oh, The Deep Deep Love of Jesus–YouTube
Be Magnified
This is the Air I Breathe
This is the Air I Breathe–Spotify
This is the Air I Breathe–YouTube
Community Prayer
*Feel free to pray as you are led in response to what is in your heart or to the songs we have been singing.
For more guidance in prayer, consider:
(Sustain Me in the Coming Then, By Ted Loder. Guerrillas of Grace, 79)
O God, empty me of angry judgments,
and aching disappointments,
and anxious trying,
and breathe into me
something like quietness
and confidence,
that the lion and the lamb in me
may lie down together
and be led by a trust
as straightforward as a little child.
Catch my pride and doubt off guard
that, at least for the moment,
I may sense your presence
and your caring,
and be surprised
by a sudden joy
rising in me now
to sustain me in the coming then.
Offering—Pray over your offering of finances and heart. May the Lord continue his work through LSCC by multiplying these gifts and granting us wisdom to invest them well.
You may give online HERE, or by mailing to:
LSCC
P.O. Box 5645
Bellingham, WA 98227
Offertory Song: Jesus, Be the Center
Scripture Reading: John 4.1-14
If there are young readers in the room, encourage children to participate in the scripture reading!
Message: (John 19.28-29)—I Thirst
*Download Children’s Resources, HERE. (Thank you, Jen Milsten!)
Songs of Response
You Have Redeemed My Soul
You Have Redeemed My Soul–Spotify
You Have Redeemed My Soul–YouTube
Build Your Kingdom Here
Build Your Kingdom Here–Spotify
Build Your Kingdom Here–YouTube
Benediction (From the Covenant Book of Worship)
Declare aloud!
The Lord is with us as we leave this place today.
Nothing will happen to us this week that God is not aware of, nor that God cannot help us with as no other.
We persevere in the full confidence of God’s loving presence, and in the peace that provides the quiet collectedness of the inner life.
For it is through God the Father that we live, in Christ Jesus we are redeemed, by the Holy Spirit we are led and kept, until in heaven or on earth we meet again. Amen!
Announcements:
-Happy birthday, Kincaid Leckie!
-All gatherings of any size associated with LSCC will remain cancelled in an effort to ‘flatten the curve’ of the Coronavirus. Keep checking your email for updates as this new landscape is ever changing.
-Small groups won’t be able to meet in person, but please keep checking in on each other. Keep posted for virtual group interaction via Zoom or other platforms.
-If you are able, think of how you can be the church—the hands and feet of Jesus, the voice of hope and bearer of good tidings—in your own community of friends and neighbors. How might we serve others through even the smallest acts of kindness from sharing our beloved toilet paper, watching someone’s kids, or checking in with isolated neighbors to see if they need groceries or just a friendly “I see you, you are not alone.”
-Let’s be good to each other. Let our kindness and generosity be a living witness to the love of Jesus during this season when so many are afraid.
-Feel free to contact LSCC with other creative ideas for serving, at: info@letteredstreetscc.com
-Finally, if you are sick or feeling down due to isolation Please Reach Out. Your staff and Lead Team are praying for you and are ready to serve and mobilize our amazing community that is LSCC.
God bless you and keep you!
Chris